Olivier Pantaloni

Olivier Pantaloni (born 13 December 1966)^[1] is a French football manager and former player. He is the current head coach of Ligue 1 club Lorient.

Olivier Pantaloni

Pantaloni as Ajaccio manager in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	(1966-12-13) 13 December 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth	Bastia, France
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[citation needed]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Lorient (head coach)
Youth career
1976–1981	Gazélec Ajaccio
1982–1983	Ajaccio
1983–1985	Gazélec Ajaccio
1985–1988	Nice
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1988–1990	Bastia	44	(7)
1990–1994	Saint-Étienne	4	(0)
1990–1991	→ Martigues (loan)	29	(6)
1992–1993	→ Gazélec Ajaccio (loan)	20	(2)
1994–2000	Ajaccio	146	(37)
Total		243	(52)
Managerial career
2004	Ajaccio
2009–2012	Ajaccio
2013–2014	Tours
2014–2024	Ajaccio
2024–	Lorient
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Pantaloni played as a striker for Nice, Bastia, Saint-Étienne, Martigues, Gazélec Ajaccio and Ajaccio.^[2]

Managerial career

Pantaloni has held various positions in AC Ajaccio's staff since 2001.^[3] When assistant coach in September 2004, he was put in interim charge when Dominique Bijotat was sacked with the team in last place in Ligue 1,^[4] and held this position for a month until the appointment of Rolland Courbis.^[5]

In December 2008, Pantaloni ended a six-month hiatus by returning to Ligue 2 Ajaccio, being named assistant to José Pasqualetti in the new year and succeeding him upon his resignation in February.^[6] In 2010–11, his first full season, he led the club to promotion as runners-up behind Évian TG, ending a five-year exile from the top flight; he resigned in June 2012, having kept them up with a 16th-place finish.^[7]

Pantaloni had his first job outside of ACA in June 2013, signing a two-year deal at Ligue 2 club Tours FC.^[8] He resigned in October 2014 with the club second from last, having lost eight of eleven fixtures.^[9] He returned to familiar surroundings days later, replacing the sacked Christian Bracconi at 12th-place Ajaccio.^[10] In 2017–18, he led the club to a promotion play-off place, and they defeated Le Havre before a 4–0 aggregate loss to Toulouse.^[11] He led Ajaccio to a 2nd place finish in the 2021–22 season, securing promotion to Ligue 1.

Honours

Manager

Lorient

• Ligue 2: 2024–25^[12]

Individual

• UNFP Ligue 2 Manager of the Year: 2024–25^[13]